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Thu, June 28, 2012
This talk will describe a control-enabled framework for enabling deployment of new hardware technologies (e.g., wind power plants, solar panels, responsive demand, smart wires) into power systems. We explain how the proposed control framework could evolve in synchrony with the existing utility control centers and their supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Much greater intelligence gets embedded into the new hardware technologies themselves for managing temporal complexities and uncertainties in a distributed way. Today's automation and control structure gets transformed into an interactive multi- layered system with information and intelligence distributed within and among the newly deployed hardware and SCADA applications. We describe how difficult spatial complexities (such as voltage support of the grid) can be coordinated by the SCADA system provided that it is not overwhelmed with managing inter-temporal correlations in distributed resources. We discuss how such a control-enabled approach could improve the performance of different evolving power grid architectures. In particular, we show how carefully architected automation enables electricity service at value and according to choice. This is done while maintaining continuity of services defined according to terms between service providers and users. We illustrate dynamic deployment of wind and solar power, responsive demand, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, according to the value they bring to those needing them. Applications to regulated and restructured bulk power systems and to micro-grids are also outlined. These examples will demonstrate how the overall operations and planning process becomes much more manageable and simpler when enabled by the right control and communication systems.